


Bloom

by soahpysoahp



Series: Bouquet - Woelena [2]
Category: Behind Cloaked Eyes
Genre: Angst, F/M, just a lil dw tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-10-02 00:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soahpysoahp/pseuds/soahpysoahp
Summary: Love is the flower you've got to let grow.





	Bloom

The crunch of snow beneath their heavy boots echo throughout the forest as the bandits arrive at a nearby inn: a cozy warm little cottage brimming with withering candles- perfect for staying the night. The chilly night makes the bandits fear the ongoing grasp of winter on their lungs, worrying they’d freeze in the chilling winter weather.

Marta walks up to the counter but unfortunately cannot even see over it; this then causes Ace to chuckle and playfully lift her up so she can convince the innkeeper to let them stay for a cheaper price. However, the innkeeper’s constant weird looks told otherwise; the outcome seemed hazy. 

Meanwhile, Iolena browses the walls filled with what seem to be portraits of the family that owns the humble inn. Soft autumn colors in neat brushstrokes display a family of four: a husband, a wife, a daughter, and a son. Welcoming smiles are displayed upon their slender, yet kind faces. 

On the other hand, Woe quietly shuts the door behind him, careful not to let any stray snow flurries in. He timidly turns around, self-conscious because of how terrifying he might look to others; he is a tiefling after all. With magenta horns sticking out of his head, his tall and muscular frame, and his bright gold eyes. He can’t help but want to vanish into the shadows sometimes.

But before allowing his insecurities to take over his mind, he lays his eyes upon the one girl he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about ever since their shared kiss on the dock. The girl whose heart is made of gold and her body is made of the stars.

Iolena Famoirah.

He watches the way her eyes shine with curiosity, as she observes the pieces of artwork before her. Seeming like art herself. A celestial being among mortals on this planet. She was something special, anyone with half a brain could see that.

So why did it take Woe so long to see this side of her? To realize it was more than just a simple friendship?

Falling in love they called it. The act of seeing someone in a new light, in a romantic way. Maybe even more than that. Maybe what they had gone beyond romantic gestures and stolen glances. 

He slowly treads towards her almost out of instinct, and ever so quietly stands next to her, careful not to startle her.

Without even looking to see who has joined her, almost as if she already knew it was him, she asks, “Aren’t they such a lovely little family?” and looks at him with bright, playful eyes.

His words seem to die on his tongue when all he can muster is a simple nod, distracted by the way her eyes lit up like Christmas lights and her smile is as warm as a campfire.

She stares at him with a fond look on her face, but she whipped her head around towards Ace and Marta who apparently had been calling them for two minutes.

Whatever moment they had been having had passed.

“Did you get the room?” Iolena asked.

“Well… we got _ rooms _.” Marta said.

“What do you mean _ rooms _?” Woe questioned.

“It means we got two rooms. C’mon Big Boy keep up!” Ace teased. Woe glared at him.

Iolena rolled her eyes and smiled, “So, how’re we gonna do this?” she asked.

“Well-” Marta began, before Ace cut her off. “_ WELL _… we already know I’m not sleeping in the same room as Mr. Stink man over here...” He pats Woe on the shoulder. “...and if I ‘sleep’ in the same room as Iolena I already know sleeping is not what we’ll be doing, and I am exhausted. Plus Marta is short so it’s easier for me to sleep at the foot of the bed.” He finishes by putting his hands on his hips and has a smug grin on his face. 

Iolena lets out a laugh, “You act like I’m the only one who would want to party it up but, whatever. So, Woey and I in one room and you guys in the other?”  
  
“Yeehaw!” Ace shouts. Iolena laughs as she takes one of the keys from Marta’s hand and begins to make way towards their assigned room.

“Oh and one other thing…” Marta begins as Iolena turns toward her.

“There’s only one queen sized bed!” Ace finishes for her. They give a knowing look to each other, because it totally isn’t obvious that there’s something going on between Woe and Iolena.

The keys slip from Iolena’s hands, her and Woe both reach for them but end up bumping into each other and sputter out awkward sorries. Marta face palms and sighs as Ace lowly says, “You guys are both such disasters…” closing the door to their room, leaving Iolena and Woe alone in the hallway.

Iolena inhales through her nose and lets it out before turning to Woe with the best grin she can manage. 

“Well… Here’s our room!” she winks at him whilst unlocking the door to said room.

But Iolena has never been good at using keys on doors, she always forgets which way to turn the key, leaving her feeling slightly embarrassed as she struggles to unlock their damn door.

Woe, being the hero that he is, gently takes the keys from her and unlocks the creaky wooden door.  


“Thank you, Woey.” Iolena smiles, then proceeds to enter the room.

Flipping on the small light switch, the room is flooded with warm amber light created by the dusty glass lamp that hangs in the center of the room. The walls are decorated with floral wallpaper, the kind you’d find in a sweet old lady’s home. Slightly cracked and golden, paintings of various fruits in bowls hang upon these welcoming walls. The infamous queen sized bed sits in the center of the room, neatly made with floral print bedsheets and colorful quilts. In the corner near the glass stained window, which was covered by linen curtains, was a worn writers desk. Overall, the room was cozy and felt like the perfect place for settling down.

“This entire room feels like a warm hug and I am absolutely in love with this feeling.” Iolena happily sighs.

She plops down on the left side of the bed, “but holy fuck am I exhausted.”

Woe cautiously sits on the edge of the right side of the bed, face to the window, “I am as well.” he mumbled, still taking in the room.

Iolena sits up right and traces lazy patterns in the soft comforter.

The silence between them, humming and electric, but neither of them dare to speak a word.

Iolena begins to slip off her boots and removes her bandana and cape along with her corset.

She’s about to slip off her shirt and change into her nightwear, thinks better of it, and quietly excuses herself to the bathroom, allowing Woe some privacy to get undressed as well.

Now alone in the room and with his thoughts, Woe’s memory sends him flashes of a night he will never forget. 

Infinite water. Endless turquoise hair. Galaxy of stars. Glowing freckles. Quiet night. Soft lips. Worlds colliding.

The words she said, that touched him in more ways than one.

“_ The stars would be so proud to know their atoms created someone like you. _”

His thoughts didn’t seem to stop. But then again, did he really mind?

Shaking the memories away and suddenly remembering where he is, Woe begins to slip off his boots and remove his other garments, putting on his soft pajama pants and only those, because like always, he doesn’t wear a shirt to sleep; and he really hopes Iolena doesn’t mind.

But she won’t, she never does.

The door to the bathroom softly clicks open and out walks Iolena in a soft, silky violet sleeping dress with delicate lace lining its edges. 

Woe turns to face her but is immediately muted as he takes her in, looking more vulnerable than he’s ever seen her. Her hair is brushed out and looks more soft and wavy rather than its usual curly and wild state. She looked ever so delicate.

Iolena puts her items away, looks at her side of the bed, then with only a moment of hesitance, slips herself under the covers and faces the wall.

“Good night, Woey.” She says sleepily.

“Good night, Lena.” He replies, then slips underneath, faces the window and switches the light off.  


*

Woe awakes to the sound of sniffling beside him. He blinks his eyes open. Still dark out, what time is it? More sniffling.

“Lena…?” Woe asks into the darkness.

“Oh fuck I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” She says, sounding stuffy.

“Are you alright?” he asks concerned.

“Oh me? Haha I’m fine, just allergies, ya know?”

Unconvinced but not wanting to push it, Woe manages to mumble an “if you say so” and slowly turns towards the moonlit window.

A solid two minutes later, 

“Woey…” Iolena says quietly.

“...Yes, Lena?”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about… ever since… what happened on the dock…” she draws out.

Woe’s eyes snapped open and he stiffens slightly, surprised by her sudden approach to the one thing that's been on his mind since it occurred.

“What is it?” He tries, though worried about what she might say, if her tone is any indication of how the conversation might go.

“I’m afraid to say it…” she whispers. It would’ve been easy to miss considering how quietly she spoke.

He sits up in bed and turns his body slightly towards her. She’s staring straight ahead, but even from his angle, Woe can see just how tired she looks. She looked beyond exhausted.

“Lena, what’s wrong?” he quietly says, voice dripping with worry. 

She sighs, stares at her hands, looks up at the ceiling and back down to her hands.

She’s working up the courage to speak, Woe notices. She always does this before talking about something important. She’s trying to convince herself it’ll be okay even if her mind is yelling at her and telling her otherwise.

She inhales, “I’ve been thinking a lot… ever since that night on the dock… I’ve been thinking about what you said, about leaving us. Going off on your own. Maybe you won’t do it anymore but I can’t help but have this feeling that maybe you will. That maybe you’ll just be gone one night without a trace left behind… and every morning I wake up, you have to be one of the first things I see, otherwise I get worried sick about where you’ve gone off to this time...”

Iolena takes another breath, her voice becoming shaky with the threat of tears, “... and maybe this is hypocritical of me, but running away won’t solve anything, Woe. Running away and- and hiding yourself and wallowing in sadness just makes things worse! Isolating yourself from the rest of us just doesn’t help-”

“Iolena-”

“Communication, W-Woe. Not Isolation.”

Woe was hit with a sudden flashback of when Iolena was telling him about her mother on one of their late night talks. Her mother. She isolated herself after the fire that took not only her childhood home, but her father. That’s why Iolena ran away. To get away from it. From the closed offness. 

And here it was, happening again, to someone she held so dearly to her heart, just like her mother.

Tears were streaming down Iolena’s face now, “Y-you can’t- you can’t always fight everything a-alone, Woe. You d-don’t have to. That’s why were h-here for you, we’re not j-just your group. W-we’re your friends. We _ care _\- and we w-want to be th-there for you t-too…”

She collects herself a little bit, “When your gone… your absence is noticeable. Everyone feels the uneven energy. But we don’t say anything. Because we’re used to it b-but that shouldn’t really be something… th-that we’re used to… We need you, Woe. I need you h-here…”

She begins crying again and flings her arms around him, worried that if she doesn’t hold on he might disappear again. 

“Iolena I… I had no idea… I didn’t think you guys would… notice… or mind much-”

“Of course we do, you asshole!” She clears her throat “I’m sorry… but of course we do, Woe. You’re apart of us. Each and every one of us, even Ace! You matter to us more than anyone else. Yes, we care about ourselves, but we’re allowed to care and worry about you as well. You aren’t… ordinary. You don’t have to do everything on your own. Yes, you’re your own person, but you matter just as much as the rest of us do too. You aren’t someone to be forgotten, you see? You have your own purpose that isn’t some mundane task. You help more people than what you probably get credit for, and I can guarantee you that.” 

She lets go of him but keeps her hands on his forearms, “Woe you are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You deserve more praise _ from yourself _. You are worth all the stars in the sky and more.”

Woe begins, “I don’t think-”

“Don't you _ dare _ downgrade yourself to a blank and white version of you. Everyone has their own complex array of colors. It isn’t selfish to recognize your worth, Woe.”

Woe just stares at her. The beautiful crying angel before him, begging him to no longer hide himself. To bring light to even the darkest parts of himself.

Times may get tough, but it’s important to not lose yourself in the moment and hide away. Talk to someone, in the moment and when it happens. It’s easier to get out of a hole with help rather than trying to climb out yourself.

That’s what she was trying to tell him. To not fight on his own. That’s why they have teams, don’t they?

“I’m so sorry, Iolena… You deserve better than this.” Woe said.

“It’s okay, we’re all learning to be the best versions of ourselves, it’s all a learning process… but don’t say that. If I didn’t deserve you, then you wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be holding you the way I am now. I wouldn’t have been able to kiss you like I did back on the dock.” she said.

“I wouldn’t be able to kiss you again, if I didn’t deserve to.”

But she did deserve him.

So she kissed him.

And he kissed back.

Because he deserves her too.

  



End file.
